The daily favorites
Rose 31 &
Cypress & Grapevine
Le Labo and Jo Malone. These are my everyday choices.
Let me get you a drink
Come, sit awhile.
My Aromatic Botanist G&T. Orange, star anise, a little fruit, and time for the first sip.
A little something with that
Explore the cocktail+
The Aromatic Botanist G&T
Ingredients
- 2 oz The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
- 4–5 oz chilled premium tonic water
- 1 fresh orange slice
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 1 whole star anise pod
- A pinch of dried currants or dried blueberries
Make it
- Place the star anise and dried berries in the bottom of the glass.
- Carefully add the ice sphere and pour the gin over it. Let it rest for 30 seconds before adding the citrus and tonic.
- Add the lemon juice and orange bitters. Tuck the orange slice alongside the ice.
- Slowly pour the chilled tonic down the inside edge of the glass. Give it one gentle lift with a bar spoon, then serve.
Two variations
Italicus: If you’re out of star anise or dried berries, add ¼–½ oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto to the gin instead.
Tea: Steep a sachet of fruity or herbal tea in the 2 oz of gin for 5–10 minutes. Remove the sachet before assembling the drink.
While we settle in
A little something.
Grapes, basil, olive oil, and flaky salt. A few ingredients I like together.
A question for the table
What have you changed your mind about?
Make the grape salad+
Grape salad
Red and white grapes, fresh basil, unfiltered olive oil, and flaky salt.
What you need
- Red and white grapes, halved
- Fresh basil, cut into ribbons
- Unfiltered olive oil
- Flaky salt
Bring it together
Toss the halved grapes with the basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Finish with flaky salt, tasting as you go.
Let’s choose the music
Stay for
another song.
Three playlists from my collection, for your company.
Choose a playlist, then press play.
Make yourself at homeA little further inside
A few things
I keep close.
This little space holds more than what I cook or pour. These are scents I wear, and bottles I return to for the pleasure of them.
Rose 31 &
For the pleasure of it
Apple Brandy
on the Rocks
A fragrance that makes me happy.
When you’re ready
Another?
Bourbon or mezcal this time? Two more of my own recipes, depending on the occasion and the company.
Harry’s Old Fashioned
Bourbon, turbinado, two bitters. A batch to share.
The recipe +
Harry’s Old Fashioned
My go-to batch: fun to make, sophisticated to enjoy.
For the batch
- 16 oz (2 cups) Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
- 18 tbsp (1 cup + 2 tbsp) turbinado simple syrup
- 20 dashes Angostura bitters
- 15 dashes orange bitters
For serving
- Large ice spheres or cubes
- Fresh orange peels, or a fresh orange slice
- Fabbri Amarena cherries
- Spiced rum-soaked maraschino cherries
Mix the batch
- Combine the bourbon and turbinado simple syrup in a pitcher or mixing vessel.
- Add both bitters and stir well to blend.
- If preparing ahead, seal and refrigerate.
Serve a glass
- Place one large ice sphere or cube in a double Old Fashioned glass.
- Pour about 3⅛ oz of the batch over the ice, dividing it into roughly eight servings.
- Stir gently to chill and slightly dilute.
- Express the oils of an orange peel over the glass and drop it in. Alternatively, squeeze a fresh orange slice over the drink.
- Finish with one Fabbri Amarena cherry and one spiced rum-soaked maraschino cherry.
Eclipse Nocturno
Mezcal, blood orange, amaro. A savory edge.
The recipe +
Eclipse Nocturno
A complex sour with mezcal, bitter amaro, blood orange, and a savory rim. A celebration of my favorite speakeasies.
Ingredients
- 1½ oz Tobalá mezcal, or a high-proof artisanal Espadín
- ¾ oz fresh blood orange juice
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz Amaro Montenegro or Cynar
- ½ oz agave nectar
The rim
Mix crushed Hawaiian black lava salt with ground freeze-dried passionfruit powder. Add a touch of smoked paprika if desired.
Make it
- Run a lime wedge around half the rim of a rocks glass and coat that half with the salt mixture.
- Combine all liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake hard for 12–15 seconds, until well chilled.
- Strain over one large ice cube. Garnish with a dehydrated blood orange wheel.
Choose your character
The mezcal: Tobalá or an Espadín/Tobalá ensamble is my preferred direction; Espadín works here, too.
The amaro: Choose Montenegro for a more citrus-led version, or Cynar for a darker, herbal direction.
A note from the bar
Keep this
within reach.
A little guidance for the next round.
Come through to the kitchen
Something warm from the kitchen
I’ve made something.
Burrata, charred peach, and hot honey on warm bread. Have one while it’s ready.
A couple more bites
Burrata & Charred Peach Crostini with Hot HoneyWarm bread, soft burrata, and a little heat.The recipe +
Burrata & Charred Peach Crostini with Hot Honey
Bright, creamy, and herbal. A bite to enjoy with a gin cocktail or a sour.
What you need
- Baguette slices, brushed with olive oil
- Fresh burrata
- Grilled peach slices, or grilled figs
- Hot honey (honey mixed with chili flakes)
- Cracked black pepper
- Fresh basil, torn
To serve
- Grill or toast the baguette slices until golden with charred edges.
- Grill the peach slices, or use a culinary blowtorch to char their surfaces. Grilled figs also work here.
- Tear open the burrata and spread generously over the warm bread.
- Top with a charred peach slice, a generous drizzle of hot honey, cracked black pepper, and fresh basil.
There’s a little more
If you’re still peckish.
Smoked salmon and caviar, or duck with fig. Something to share before we wander on.
What else is on the table?
Smoked Salmon & Caviar Everything-PuffsLemon, dill, and a little supper-club glamour.The recipe +
Smoked Salmon & Caviar Everything-Puffs
A little supper-club glamour: smoked salmon, caviar, lemon, and dill.
What you need
- Mini gougères (French cheese puffs) or bite-sized puff pastry squares
- Whipped cream cheese with dill, lemon, and chives
- Cold-smoked salmon
- Black caviar or tobiko
- Fresh dill sprigs
To serve
Slice the top third off each warm cheese puff. Pipe in a dollop of the whipped lemon-dill and chive cream cheese. Fold in ribbons of smoked salmon, then top with a small spoonful of caviar and a sprig of fresh dill. Set the pastry cap back on. If using puff pastry squares, split and fill them in the same way.
Smoked Duck & Fig TartletsFig, blue cheese, and crisp phyllo.The recipe +
Smoked Duck & Fig Tartlets
A rich, dark bite for a spirit-forward drink.
What you need
- Pre-baked mini phyllo pastry shells
- Smoked duck breast, thinly shaved or finely diced
- Dark fig jam mixed with a splash of balsamic glaze
- Crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola
- Micro-arugula or other fresh microgreens
To serve
- Spoon ½ teaspoon of the fig jam mixture into each phyllo shell.
- Top with the smoked duck and a crumble of blue cheese.
- Place in a 375°F oven for 5 minutes, until warm and melted.
- Garnish with micro-arugula and serve.
A few things I’ve made
I paint, too.
Life Is a DreamA little more of my painting
A little more of my painting
Life Is a Dream
I often paint faces with their eyes closed. I’ve asked myself why many times. When life is painful, you want to wake from the dream. When life is good, it can feel like a dream itself.
While talking about this painting, I remembered a passage from Calderón’s La vida es sueño that spoke to me when I was very young. I had not thought about it in years. Remembering it helped me understand a little more of what draws me to these sleeping faces.
The painting is finished now. The little points of light are part of the paint.
The Tree, Number One
This grew out of artists I admire, organic forms, and the idea of a tree. I was drawn to the thick brushwork and the texture of the paint.
It was one of those pieces I painted without thinking too much, following the composition as it developed.
The Saints
While I was in college, I began painting icons. I mixed my own pigments to make tempera, worked with gold leaf, and painted on wood.
The preparation was part of it: the wood, the pigments, the drawing. I worked with the panel lying flat, almost as if I were writing. The whole process felt ceremonial to me.
Inside my studio
My studio at an earlier stage, with the dreaming woman still on the easel.
This photograph shows the painting in progress, before I finished it.
What is life? A frenzy.
What is life? An illusion,
a shadow, a fiction,
and the greatest good is small;
for all of life is a dream,
and dreams are only dreams.¿Qué es la vida? Un frenesí.
¿Qué es la vida? Una ilusión,
una sombra, una ficción,
y el mayor bien es pequeño;
que toda la vida es sueño,
y los sueños, sueños son.Before you go
I saved you something.
My rose petal gelato. A soft floral finish, served in a chilled coupe.
Stay for another song
Rose Petal GelatoRose petals, pistachios, and time to linger.The recipe +
Rose Petal Gelato
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 cup organic dried edible rose petals, or fresh edible pesticide-free red or pink petals
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk, chilled
- 5 drops pure Bulgarian rose extract
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- A pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 drop pink natural food coloring, optional
- Crushed raw pistachios or edible dried rose petals, to garnish
Method
- Infuse the cream. Place 1 cup of cream and the rose petals in a small saucepan over low heat. Warm until tiny bubbles form around the edges; do not boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the petals to extract the floral cream. Chill completely in the refrigerator.
- Mix the base. Whisk together the chilled condensed milk, rose extract, vanilla, salt, and optional pink coloring until smooth.
- Whip the cream. Combine the chilled rose-infused cream with the remaining 1 cup of cold cream. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold and assemble. Gently fold one-third of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining cream until uniform and airy.
- Freeze. Pour into a metal loaf pan or chilled freezer-safe dish. Smooth the top and cover tightly with wrap touching the surface. Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Serve. Scoop into chilled coupe glasses and garnish with crushed pistachios or dried edible rose petals.
Two variations
Raspberry: Swirl ⅓ cup of tart raspberry coulis through the gelato just before freezing.
Cardamom: Add ⅛ tsp ground cardamom to the cream while steeping.